What then do I mean by the ideal of a universal religion? I do not mean any one universal philosophy, or any one universal mythology, or any one universal ritual held alike by all; for I know that this world must go on working, wheel within wheel, this intricate mass of machinery, most complex, most […]
. . . One gets a human body as a result of great merit in past lives. Once one is born as a human being, the gate to liberation is open. Having a human body, if one fails to strive for liberation, who knows when such an opportunity will come again?
Do your duty with one hand and with the other hold to God. After the duty is over, you will hold to God with both hands.
Blessedness, eternal peace, arising from perfect freedom, is the highest concept of religion underlying all the ideas of God in Vedanta—absolutely free existence, not bound by anything, no change, no nature, nothing that can produce a change in him. This same freedom is in you and in me and is the only real freedom. God […]
On 1 January 1886, the Master [Sri Ramakrishna] felt better and expressed a desire to walk in the garden for a short while. Because it was a holiday, the householder devotees began arriving at the Cossipore garden after midday individually and in groups. The Master came down from upstairs at 3:00 p.m.; there were more […]
Some people prefer solitude. They say their peace of mind depends on this. Others say they would be better off in church. If you do well, you do well wherever you are. If you fail, you fail wherever you are. Your surroundings don’t matter. God is with you everywhere—in the market place as well as […]
“You see, I cannot but believe
that there is somewhere a great power
that thinks of herself as feminine
and is called Kali and Mother. . . .
And I believe in Brahman, too.”
Belur Math, 9 December 1898 • Sri Ramakrishna said to me [at Cossipore], “Wherever you will take me on your shoulders, there I will go and stay, be it under a tree or in a hut.” It is therefore that I am myself carrying him [his remains] on my shoulders to the new Math [monastery] […]
Master: “The feeling of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ is ignorance. People say that Rani Rasmani built the Kali temple; but nobody says it was the work of God. They say that such and such a person established the Brahmo Samaj; but nobody says it was founded through the will of God. This feeling, ‘I am the […]
When I say “I,” I mean this spirit. Close your eyes and see what picture appears when you think of your “I.” Is it the picture of your body that comes, or of your mental nature? If so, you have not realized your true “I” yet. The time will come, however, when as soon as […]
